Opinion
NO. 01-16-00828-CV
08-15-2017
DOREATHA WALKER, Appellant v. HARTFORD UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee
On Appeal from the 127th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 2015-31910
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant Dorothea Walker has neither paid the required fees nor established indigence for purposes of appellate costs. See TEX. R. APP. P. 5 (requiring payment of fees in civil cases unless indigent); TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1 (listing requirements for establishing indigence); see also TEX. GOV'T CODE §§ 51.207, 51.941(a), 101.041 (listing fees in court of appeals); Order Regarding Fees Charged in Civil Cases in the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals and Before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, Misc. Docket No. 15-9158 (Tex. Aug. 28, 2015) (listing fees in court of appeals). After being notified that this appeal was subject to dismissal, appellant responded by filing two motions, a motion to proceed with the appeal as an indigent and a "motion not to dismiss" because she claimed an uncontested affidavit of indigence was filed in the trial court.
The requirements for proceeding in the appellate court without paying costs (filing fees) are found in Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 20.1. Fees charged for preparation of the appellate record are governed by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145. TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1(a). Effective September 1, 2016, these rules were amended to require the filing of a Statement of Inability to Afford Court Costs in the trial court, and an appellant who files this Statement will not have to pay court costs in the appellate court unless the trial court overrules the party's indigence claim. See TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1(b)(1).
When appellant filed her notice of appeal, she filed an affidavit of indigence in the trial court, but this affidavit did not comply with the amended rules. Accordingly, this court ordered appellant to file in the trial court the form Statement of Inability and to request the preparation of a supplemental clerk's record. No supplemental clerk's record was filed timely, and the trial court's electronic docket reveals that no Statement of Inability was filed.
We dismiss the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 5 (allowing enforcement of rule requiring payment of fees); TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(c) (allowing involuntary dismissal of case). We dismiss any pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM Panel consists of Chief Justice Radack and Justices Keyes and Massengale.